Tennessee Governor's Task Force on Marijuana Eradication

Last updated
Tennessee Governor’s Task Force on Marijuana Eradication
Active1983-present
CountryUnited States
Agency
Typemulti-agency law enforcement task force
Role
Operations jurisdiction
  • Tennessee
Headquarters Chattanooga, Tennessee
Website
TBI Drug Investigation Division

The Tennessee Governor's Task Force on Marijuana Eradication (GTFME), a multi-agency law enforcement task force founded in 1983, is managed by the Office of the Governor of Tennessee composed of local, state agencies organized expressly to eradicate illegal cannabis cultivation and trafficking in Tennessee. The Governor's Task Force is operated by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation's Tennessee Dangerous Drugs Task Force. [3] The eradication season lasts from May through September in Tennessee, where outdoor marijuana cultivation ranks second in the United States, behind California. [4] The task force, divided into three regional teams, East, Middle and West, centralized marijuana eradication in the state into a coordinated multi-agency program. [5]

Contents

The task force, created by then Tennessee Governor Lamar Alexander's Executive Order #51 in April 1983, [6] originally included the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, the Tennessee Highway Patrol, Tennessee National Guard, and the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. [7] A 2018 law removed the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission from the task force. [8] The task force often uses helicopters, flown by the Tennessee Highway Patrol and Tennessee National Guard, for aerial surveillance of outdoor marijuana grow sites in rural eastern Tennessee. [9] [10]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drug Enforcement Administration</span> United States federal law enforcement agency

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with combating illicit drug trafficking and distribution within the U.S. It is the lead agency for domestic enforcement of the Controlled Substances Act, sharing concurrent jurisdiction with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. However, the DEA has sole responsibility for coordinating and pursuing U.S. drug investigations both domestically and internationally.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coast guard</span> Maritime security organization

A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to being a volunteer organization tasked with search and rescue without law enforcement authority. In most countries, a typical coast guard's functions are distinct from those of the navy and the transit police, while in certain countries they have similarities to both.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission</span>

The Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission (OLCC), formerly known as the Oregon Liquor Control Commission, is a government agency of the U.S. state of Oregon. The OLCC was created by an act of the Oregon Legislative Assembly in 1933, days after the repeal of prohibition, as a means of providing control over the distribution, sales and consumption of alcoholic beverages. To this end, the agency was given the authority to regulate and license those who manufacture, sell or serve alcohol. Oregon is one of 18 alcoholic beverage control states that directly control the sales of alcoholic beverages in the United States. In 2014, the passage of Oregon Ballot Measure 91 (2014) legalized the recreational use of marijuana in Oregon and gave regulatory authority to the OLCC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alaska State Troopers</span> State police agency of the U.S. state of Alaska

The Alaska State Troopers, officially the Division of Alaska State Troopers (AST), is the state police agency of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is a division of the Alaska Department of Public Safety (DPS). The AST is a full-service law enforcement agency that handles both traffic and criminal law enforcement. The AST is also involved in apprehending fugitives as part of the Alaska Fugitive Task Force, an inter-agency collaborative of Alaska police departments that cooperates with police agencies throughout the United States and less commonly with Interpol in apprehending wanted men and women. Unlike many lower 48 states, the AST also serves as Alaska’s primary environmental law enforcement agency; troopers assigned to the AST’s Division of Alaska Wildlife Troopers are known as "Alaska Wildlife Troopers" and primarily serve as game wardens, although they retain the same powers as other Alaskan state troopers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission</span> State agency of Texas

The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, or TABC, is a Texas public agency responsible for regulating, inspecting, and taxing the production, sale, and use of alcoholic beverages within the state. The agency was established in 1935 and is headquartered in Austin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Campaign Against Marijuana Planting</span> Multi-agency law enforcement task force

The Campaign Against Marijuana Planting (CAMP) is a multi-agency law enforcement task force managed by the California Department of Justice and composed of local, state and federal agencies organized expressly to eradicate illegal cannabis cultivation and trafficking in California. Since its establishment in 1983, more than 110 agencies having participated, making CAMP one of the largest law enforcement task force in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Border guard</span> Government service concerned with security of national borders

A border guard of a country is a national security agency that performs border security. Some of the national border guard agencies also perform coast guard and rescue service duties.

Law enforcement in Indonesia is mainly performed by the Indonesian National Police (POLRI), together with other law enforcement agencies which are under the president, a certain ministry or State-owned company (BUMN) which perform policing duties for a certain public service, these law enforcement agencies are under supervision and are trained by the Indonesian National Police. The Indonesian National Police is basically the national civilian police force of the country responsible for enforcing law and order of the state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force</span> Federal drug enforcement program in the United States

The Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) is a federal drug enforcement program in the United States, overseen by the Attorney General and the Department of Justice. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the major drug trafficking operations and tackle related crimes, such as money laundering, tax and weapon violations, and violent crime, and prosecute those primarily responsible for the nation's drug supply.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Idaho State Police</span>

The Idaho State Police (ISP) is the statewide law enforcement agency for the State of Idaho. It began as the Bureau of Constabulary, created on May 18, 1919, under the new Department of Law Enforcement, to detect and investigate crime, "order abatement of public nuisances and to enforce such orders by appropriate court action, to suppress riots, prevent wrongs to children and animals that are inhibited by law." The state constabulary was also charged with the organization of various state, county and municipal peace officers. The bureau was dissolved by the state legislature in 1923.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Georgia State Patrol</span> Highway patrol agency for Georgia, United States

The Georgia State Patrol (GSP) was established in March 1937 in the U.S. state of Georgia and is a division of the Georgia Department of Public Safety. It is the primary state patrol agency for the U.S. state of Georgia. Although focused primarily on the enforcement of traffic laws and investigation of traffic crashes, the Georgia State Patrol (GSP) supports the efforts of all public safety agencies to reduce criminal activity, apprehend those involved, and respond to natural and manmade disasters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tennessee Highway Patrol</span> State Patrol organization for the U.S. state of Tennessee

The Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) is the State Patrol organization for the U.S. state of Tennessee, responsible for enforcing all federal and state laws relating to traffic on the state's federal and state highways. The agency was created to protect the lives, property, and constitutional rights of people in Tennessee. The THP is a division of the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Federal law enforcement in the United States</span> Federal law enforcement agencies of the United States

The federal government of the United States empowers a wide range of federal law enforcement agencies to maintain law and public order related to matters affecting the country as a whole.

Operation Green Sweep was a series of drug raids conducted by over 200 United States Army soldiers, National Guardsmen, and federal agents in Humboldt County, California. The operation was the first time active-duty troops were used to combat marijuana growing in the United States. The joint federal and state operation led by the Bureau of Land Management was centered around eradicating marijuana and removing agribusiness paraphernalia from the King Range National Conservation Area, federal land administered by BLM near Petrolia, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">State police (United States)</span> Police department of a U.S. state

In the United States, the state police is a police body unique to each U.S. state, having statewide authority to conduct law enforcement activities and criminal investigations. In general, state police officers or highway patrol officers, known as state troopers, perform functions that do not fall within the jurisdiction of a county’s sheriff, such as enforcing traffic laws on state highways and interstates, overseeing security of state capitol complexes, protecting governors, training new officers for local police forces too small to operate an academy and providing technological and scientific services. They also support local police and help to coordinate multi-jurisdictional task force activity in serious or complicated cases in states that grant full police powers statewide.

The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) is a statewide investigative law enforcement agency in South Carolina. SLED provides manpower and technical assistance to other law enforcement agencies and conducts investigations on behalf of the state as directed by the Governor and Attorney General. SLED Headquarters is located in the state capital, Columbia, with offices in the Midlands, Piedmont, Pee Dee, and Low Country regions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cannabis in Tennessee</span> Substance in Tennessee which is usually unlawful

Cannabis in Tennessee is illegal for most use, with the exception of limited medical purposes. Possession of even small amounts is a criminal misdemeanor, but there are limited legal allowances for non-psychoactive CBD oil as medical cannabis, and the authorities have not been able to enforce the law.

The Kentucky Marijuana Strike Force, also known as the Kentucky Governor's Marijuana Strike/Task Force, is a multi-agency law enforcement task force managed by the Office of the Governor of Kentucky and Kentucky State Police Marijuana Suppression Branch, and composed of local, state and federal agencies organized expressly to eradicate illegal cannabis cultivation and trafficking in Kentucky. The task force was established in 1990, to combat marijuana cultivation on public lands in Kentucky that ranks third in the United States, behind California and Tennessee. An estimated $1 billion worth of marijuana is seized in Kentucky annually.

Florida's Domestic Marijuana Eradication Program, is a multi-agency state and federal law enforcement program founded in 1981, jointly managed by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to provide funding for local law enforcement agencies’ efforts to eradicate illegal cannabis cultivation and trafficking in Florida.

References

  1. "Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Annual Report 2019-2020" (PDF). Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. September 28, 2020. Retrieved 2022-01-09.
  2. "The Governor's Task Force on Marijuana Eradication". Tennessee Dangerous Drugs Task Force. Retrieved 2022-01-09.
  3. Dwayne Page (June 9, 2021). "Governor's Task Force on Marijuana Eradication conducts helicopter flyover in DeKalb County". WJLE. Retrieved 2022-01-09.
  4. "National Drug Threat Assessment 2005 - Executive Summary". National Drug Intelligence Center. February 2005. Archived from the original on 2013-02-12. Retrieved 2022-01-09.
  5. Poore, Jason (July 7, 2011). "Ideal State Level Marijuana Investigation & Eradication Program Design" (PDF). University of Wisconsin-Platteville. Retrieved 2022-01-09.
  6. "Complete Wipeout of Drug Not Easy". Rocky Mount Telegram. Associated Press. August 16, 1984. Retrieved 2022-01-09.
  7. Dee Goodin (July 27, 1983). "Marijuana seized in Cocke County". Johnson City Press-Chronicle. Retrieved 2022-01-09.
  8. Jim Matheny (December 22, 2017). "New law changes who enforces marijuana crimes". WBIR 10 News. Retrieved 2022-01-09.
  9. "Authorities make largest Tennessee marijuana find ever - more than 350,000 plants". Kingsport Times News. September 9, 2009. Retrieved 2022-01-09.
  10. Kendra Owenby (August 20, 2013). "Tennessee National Guard teams with drug law enforcement for marijuana eradication". Defense Visual Information Distribution Service. Retrieved 2022-01-09.